New 'Arctic Surveys' Mask War Prep, Warns Top US General

The Arctic is going to be one of the world's most critical strategic locations for the next century. Oil, gas, and mineral wealth are abundant, both on the land above the Arctic Circle and under the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean. What's perhaps more important is the strategic locations found therein. Whoever controls the Arctic holds a great big hammer over the heads of every person in the Northern Hemisphere. Russia, China, and the United States are the three main powers contending for control of the Arctic.

A quick look at a map is revealing. Russia already holds almost half of the Arctic Ocean's shoreline.

Look: Russia already holds half the Arctic Ocean's shoreline. pic.twitter.com/8aJctpj0y0
— Ward Clark (@TheGreatLander) January 13, 2026

General Alexus Grynkewich is the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), a post first held by General Dwight Eisenhower in World War 2. He has some cautionary information for us concerning the Arctic, and if there's a man around with reason to know about this, it's him.

Russia and China are expanding their presence in the Arctic for strategic — not scientific — reasons, according to a senior U.S. commander.
"It’s not for peaceful reasons," said Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the supreme allied commander Europe, at a conference in Sweden Sunday.
"They’re not studying the seals and the polar bears," he went on. "They’re out there doing bathymetric surveys and trying to figure out how they can counter NATO capabilities on and under the sea. So that’s something that could grow very quickly, and we need to be mindful of it and ready for it."
A bathymetric survey refers to the mapping of the ocean floor, using sonar and other sensors to measure underwater depth and terrain. The surveys can support submarine navigation, identifying underwater chokepoints, and map routes for undersea cables or sensors.

Submarine navigation is a major issue. Consider the photo at the top of this piece; modern nuclear submarines can spend a considerable time under Arctic ice, where they are essentially undetectable and invulnerable, except to other submarines. A few Russian "boomers" under the ice, guarded by some Russian (or Chinese) fast-attack boats, could present a considerable threat.

What Russia and China are doing in the Arctic, right now, is intelligence-gathering. And the United States and NATO are already at a disadvantage here; just take another look at that map of the Arctic.

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Now, all nations' militaries do intelligence-gathering, all the time. It's part of the job. And Russia, we might remember, has other things on its mind, like Ukraine; General Grynkewich noted that as well:

He said Russia and China increasingly are conducting joint patrols north of Alaska and near Canada, but he does not see an immediate threat, "partly because Russia is so preoccupied with Ukraine."

Not all threats, we might point out, are immediate threats.

This is why President Trump is so concerned about Greenland. The United States holds Alaska, which controls the only entry from the Pacific into the Arctic, the Bering Strait. But the Atlantic access points are much less constrained; the Norwegian and Greenland Seas are expansive, and while right now those seas are largely NATO lakes, Russia and China are playing there a lot right now - and bear in mind that Russia already has its big ports in the Barents, including Murmansk, and the White Sea ports of Arkhangelsk and Belomorsk, among others.

I don't think we're quite ready to see World War 3 start up, just yet. But when it does, mark my words, there will be an Arctic Theater, and that's for sure and for certain.

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